Meeting the AI literacy challenge: a compliance perspective

The EU AI Act and other emerging artificial intelligence literacy requirements mark a significant shift for compliance teams. Ignorance is not a defence; organisations must actively ensure staff understand the tools they use and the risks involved, says Jonathan Armstrong.

Jonathan Armstrong is a partner at Punter Southall Law who specialises in compliance and technology matters. He is also a professor at Fordham Law School teaching a new post-graduate course on international compliance. Contact him on jonathan.armstrong@puntersouthall.law.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a back-office experiment; it is fast becoming a central part of how organisations operate, from customer services to decision-making. But with AI adoption accelerating rapidly, regulators are now focusing on new compliance challenges - determining if organisations truly understand the AI they use and if they can manage the associated risks responsibly. For compliance teams, ensuring AI literacy across staff, contractors and suppliers is becoming a core governance obligation.